Birdkids of a Feather
by I Was Divided by Zero
Summary: They hate each other. He makes her skin crawl. She makes his head throb. But what happens when the two birdkids have to flock together for the sake of the little ones? Magpie and Ajax not only have to put up with each other as they battle evil scientists, but also screaming kids and a 7-year-old foretelling Magpie's murder by a boy who keeps looking more and more familiar. #All OCs
1. Magpie

**January 10th, 2013**

**Hey! What's up network? You might recognize my username, I've written a few other Maximum Ride fanfictions in my time. For those of you who don't know me, just call me Divide, and it's nice to meet you!**

**This story is rated T for swearing and violence.**

**I'd like to give special thanks right away to ****FinWasHere****, ****She Who Arranges the Stars****, ****Coffeehouse Angel****, ****Snakepool****, and ****madin456**** for helping me come up with characters. Fin and Stars came up with all the names (or at least the themes for the names), and Coffee, Madin, and Snake helped with the descriptions and/or powers for the characters! (I kind of mixed and matched the looks, powers, ages, etc.)**

**Thank you all so much, this story is for you guys!**

**Enjoy!**

**PS: Cover art is an edit of "Light Outside" by burdge-bug on DeviantART, all credit goes to him/her. **

* * *

_mag·pie_  
_Noun  
__1. A long-tailed crow with boldly marked plumage and a raucous voice.  
__2. Used in comparisons to refer to a person who chatters and gossips idly or is generally selfish and doesn't think of others before themselves._

* * *

_Oh, this is the life. Just lying here in a nice, warm bed. Soft pillows. Just enough food to survive. No evil scientists, no screaming kids, no-_

"Magpie! Magpie? Magpie!" someone yelled through the door.

I groaned and sat up, muscles aching, as a girl threw the door to my room open. She ran to me, caramel hair flying.

"What is it Siren?" I moaned, flopping back down on the bed and closing my eyes.

"It's Echo! She was-" Siren's sentence was interrupted by her sob and I could tell this was bigger than some harmless sibling rivalry.

I sat bolt upright and opened my eyes. "_What _about Echo?"

Siren sobbed again, unable to answer.

I gripped her small twelve-year-old shoulders. "Tell me what happened," I commanded in that booming voice that I had perfected over the years of raising small children.

"We- we were done with breakfast, so we went back to our room..." she whimpered.

"Yes? Yes!?"

"I asked her if she wanted her hair up in pigtails, like I do every day."

"Oh no..."

Siren's cries came in waves now, like she was on the verge of having a panic attack. "She- she said she wanted _you _to do her hair today," she managed.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap." I jumped out of bed and grabbed Siren's hand, leading her down the hallway to the room she shared with Echo. She dragged her feet as if she didn't want to come. I let go of her when we reached the room and I pushed the door open slowly.

"Magpie!" a small girl announced cheerfully. She was sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by stuffed animals and art supplies.

"Hey sweetie..." I said nervously.

"Did Siren tell you?" She kept a smile on her face. A cute, innocent smile, not an evil one by far.

"She _sure_ did," I said in a voice that you just can't help but use in the presence of a seven-year-old.

"I want my hair different today. I want you to brush it for me. I want it to be just like yours!"

"Mine?" I reached up to stroke my own curly, brown hair.

"Yeah!" Echo said enthusiastically.

"Okay then." I slowly sat down next to her. I picked up the pink hairbrush next to her and started running it through her bright, rust-red hair. "So, tell me Echo, what makes you want your hair different_ today_, of all days?"

"Oh... I don't know. I just _felt_ different today."

I looked up at Siren, still standing by the door. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Hey Echo, before I put your hair in a ponytail like mine, can I see your sketchbook?"

"Sure!" She stood up and straightened her t-shirt. "But you both have to close your eyes so you don't know where my secret hiding place is."

"Okay," I said cheerfully, doing as she asked.

I guess Siren closed her eyes too, because I heard Echo padding over to where I supposed her bunk bed was. A squeak of springs and ruffle of sheets later, she came back over to me.

"Oh, sorry Magpie! I forgot! I haven't finished my new _masterpiece_ yet. Can you let me color it first?" She held the notebook against her chest.

"Oh, um, of course." I watched her as she picked a bright red colored pencil from the floor.

"Well, I can't finish it with you all watching me." Echo rolled her eyes as if this was obvious.

"Okay," I said, standing up. "Siren, come with me."

She only nodded.

Once outside the room, I shut the door and gripped Siren's shoulders again. "Siren. Siren, listen to me. You need to go in the kitchen and check the emergency packs, okay? Can you do that?"

She shook her head vigorously. "I'm staying with you."

"Finished!" we heard from the other side of the door.

Siren and I entered again, closing the door behind us. It was just us three in the room.

"Here you go." Echo held out her notebook to me, smiling.

I took it in both hands and skipped to the back, flipping the pages backward to find the most recent pictures.

_Blank. Blank. Blank. Blank. _And then, a drawing. It was fully colored, something Echo didn't do often.

Siren looked over my shoulder and let out a sharp breath.

The sketch was a scene in a forest. That wasn't necessarily odd, Echo liked to draw trees. And she was good at it too, every leaf and piece of bark etched with the utmost detail. She would never settle for anything less. The sunlight shining through the trees' leaves made speckled patterns on the forest floor.

"Why!?" Siren screamed at Echo, obviously furious. "Why would you draw such a horrible thing!?" Echo's smile dropped into a confused frown.

In the picture, a girl was laying on her back on the dirt. Huge black and white bird's wings stuck out from under her. One hand was reaching up towards the light streaming through the branches. A red puddle surrounded her. A knife was stuck in her right shoulder.

Siren tackled Echo. Echo screamed and sobbed. I quickly glanced up and made sure there wasn't anything sharp either of them could use as a weapon. _Nothing. Okay, good, let them fight it out. It'll keep them busy, _I thought.

I looked back down at the beautifully horrific scene. A boy knelt next to the dying girl. He gripped her hand in his. With his _other_ hand, he held the knife in her shoulder. And he was _smiling_.

"What? What did I do wrong!? I just wanted to draw!" Echo cried as Siren pinned her down.

It was a pretty scene, despite the blood and death.

"Siren! I mean, Banshee! Get off of Echo! It's not her fault!"

"Fine," Banshee spat, rolling off Echo.

The small red-head crawled over to me and wrapped herself around my leg. "I'm sorry Magpie! I'm sorry! I just got this picture in my head and I couldn't get it out. I wanted to draw it so bad, so I did. You're not mad at me, are you?"

"No, Echo! I'd never be mad at you for being creative. You just wanted to draw, I understand."

Echo wiped her tears and looked up at me with her wide, pale blue eyes. "Really?" she asked.

"Really. I promise." I leaned down and picked her up, holding her close.

Banshee marched out of the room, hazel eyes flashing with rage.

...

That night, all three of us slept in the living room together. When Echo asked why, I told her we were having a sleepover. She accepted it without question.

Siren had returned to her usual state of mind and fell fast asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, as she always does. Echo stayed up with a flashlight and scribbled in her sketchbook. Her eyelids drooped and after she finally fell asleep, I eased the notebook and flashlight out of under her pillow.

I flipped to the most recent doodles. They were just miniature drawings of birds and trees and clouds. They weren't colored.

I searched for her "masterpiece" and when I found it, I examined every inch of it for clues.

Clues about what, you ask? The future, that's what. Echo isn't just some random seven-year-old who can draw. She can see the future, even if she doesn't always recognize that's what it is. Echo's mind works in a very... unique way. When bad things are about to happen to her, she disrupts her daily patterns. Hair style, for example.*****

And Siren isn't just some random twelve-year-old with a severe multiple-personalities disorder.****** She can scream so loud she'll pop your ear drums and turn you deaf.

And I'm not just some random sixteen-year-old who is forced to look after two younger girls that I have no blood relation to at all. All three of us are scientific genetic experiments. We don't have anyone but each other.

I focused back on the drawing. I tried to notice other things about the scene, like the birds singing in the trees, or how the sky was cloudless and blue. But I just couldn't focus on anything but the girl and the boy. The girl with a knife in her shoulder, put there by the boy with an evil grin. Black hair framed his sharp face. His eyes were the most peculiar feature though; the left eye was a light brown color, the other one was pale blue.

But the girl... the girl seemed to be the center of the entire scene. The blood flowing from her shoulder drew my attention to her face. Her round face with high cheekbones. Her button nose. Her deep violet-colored eyes. Her curly chocolate hair with natural gold highlights...

It was unmistakably, undoubtedly, unarguably a drawing of... _me_.

* * *

***This is why Magpie knew to be worried about Echo when Siren told her about the hair change. She knows that Echo will disrupt a daily pattern when the future isn't too bright.**

****Banshee and Siren are the same person. She has multiple personalities and they call her different names for each one. Siren for nice and caring, and Banshee for mean and violent.**

**Most of this will be explained next chapter, so stay tuned!**

**FAVORITE! FOLLOW! REVIEW!**

**THANKS!**

**~Divide /0**

**PS: You guys should really read the author's notes I put here. I'm not even kidding. If you ask me some stupid question that I had already answered in the chapter's author's note, I will be very angry. I know that they can be long, but they're worth it.**


	2. Siren

**1-18-13**

**RECAP**

_**But the girl... the girl seemed to be the center of the entire scene. The blood flowing from her shoulder drew my attention to her face. Her round face with high cheekbones. Her button nose. Her deep violet eyes. Her curly chocolate hair with natural gold highlights...**_

_**It was unmistakably, undoubtedly, unarguably a drawing of... me.**_

* * *

_si·ren  
__Noun  
__1. A device that makes a loud prolonged warning signal.  
__2. (Greek Mythology) Women or winged creatures whose singing lured unwary sailors to their deaths._

* * *

After a few _hours,_ I finally pried my eyes away from the drawing. I flipped through some of Echo's earlier "masterpieces."

I suppose I should probably explain about... everything.

Echo... I guess you could call her the "Small and Disturbed" one. She can... well, she can tell the future. We don't think that she knows that though. I always try to encourage her to draw a lot because you never know when you might need your fortune told. You can tell the prophecies and the regular drawings apart in her notebook because she usually colors the ones that show the future.

We call her Echo because she can mimic any noise. And I'm not just talking about human voices; I'm talking about _any_ noise. Cars, birds, running water; anything. She can replicate and project it perfectly. Sound fun to you? Trust me, it's not. We have a whole roll of duct-tape reserved for "Echo Silencing."

Siren's kind of the same way. On top of having to be a human-bird hybrid, she's got a bad case of multiple personalities. It's some form of bipolar, I guess. One minute, she's a sweet and caring big sister to Echo; the next, she's screaming and ripping out chunks of hair.

And when Siren screams, she _screams._ It's why her other name is Banshee. She'll make your ears_ bleed_. We're convinced that she can go so high pitched, that you can't hear it with human ears. But, we're not human, so we have to put up with it and try not to make her angry. I mean, on the other hand, the banshee thing works both ways. She's a great singer. It doesn't even need to be a real song; sometimes just her humming will put you in a trance.

Me? I'm not so special. I've only got one lousy power. Metal. I can control it, bend it, manipulate it, and make it heat up or cool down. That's pretty much it. My name is Magpie because magpies are birds that collect metal to use as nesting material. At least, that's what I like to _tell _myself.

The_ real_ reason is because of the way I act towards other people. In stories and mythology, magpies are depicted as selfish and self-centered and don't care about the others. I'm not proud that that's why I'm called a magpie by my family, but that's how I used to be. I've gotten better about it over the years, learning that to be the "Fearless Leader," I couldn't be selfish.

I got stuck being the leader because no one else could. I'm the oldest. The strongest. The smartest. We're all really different, actually, and if it was any other way, I would've ditched 'em a long time ago. But it wasn't any other way. Among our differences, we all have one big thing in common. Our DNA. We're 98% human, and the other 2% is avian. We've got the typical mutant concept going for us: super-speed, super-strength, super-stamina. It's pretty much a whole lot of "supers."

And on top of all that, we've got wings. Why else would they make us 2% bird?

I think we've even got specific bird types each. I'm pretty sure that I'm a magpie. I've got all white feathers, but they each have a bit of black on the end. It ends up looking kind of like a speckled dalmatian pattern. The end feathers, the ones that catch the most wind when flying, are deep, metallic blue.

Siren's wings are blue too, but I doubt she's got any magpie blood. Her wings are as bright as a blue jay's, and I'm pretty sure that's what she is. Echo's are a bit harder to explain. Have you ever seen a dapple-gray horse? One that's gray with darker gray spots on top? That's kind of how Echo's wings are. A gray owl would be my best guess for her. It would fit her personality and sleep schedule. Echo was a true night owl if I ever saw one. The only thing that could properly put her to sleep was Siren's singing.

Even now, she stirred in her sleep. I carefully flipped the pages of her sketchbook so they wouldn't make any noise. One of the first colored pictures in the book was a drawing of me and Siren throwing punches at each other. The background was a brick wall. I remembered that day like it was yesterday, despite it being several years ago when Siren was 9 and I was 13. Echo was only 4, but she could still draw. At 3 years old, us genetic experiments already had the functioning minds of an average 10 year old.

I recalled the memory and met it with heartache. Banshee and I had stood in a back alley. It had been one of those days where all the hunger just added up to insanity. Banshee didn't take hunger well, and she got easily provoked when things weren't going well. Back then, she had been more Banshee than Siren.

We were arguing about where to go next to look for food. The fight quickly turned physical, and if Echo hadn't been there to break it up, it would've gotten really bloody. That's selfish, stubborn Magpie for you.

Anyway, Echo had drawn that picture about three weeks before the fight. That was usually the amount of time she allowed between prediction of an event and completion of prophecy. Was that how much time I had now? Three weeks? Three weeks until I got killed? Until I got murdered?

_No._ I couldn't think like that. Siren needed me now; she was just as freaked out as me. If I died, she'd have to take care of Echo by herself. I would never do that to her.

The supposed three weeks that I had left weren't for moping around. I didn't have three weeks to die. I had three weeks to find and stop the dark-haired guy in the picture. I didn't even know if it was possible, but I had three weeks to stop the future from happening.

* * *

**A big thank you to ****TartKiwiFruit**** for being my first follower and to ****walomadolo**** for being the first favorite!**

**See you next week! Read, follow, favorite, review! Thanks!**

**~Divide /0**


	3. Banshee

**1-25-13**

**RECAP**

**No.**_** I couldn't think like that. Siren needed me now; she was just as freaked out as me. If I died, she'd have to take care of Echo by herself. I would never do that to her.**_

_**The supposed three weeks that I had left weren't for moping around. I didn't have three weeks to die. I had three weeks to find and stop the dark-haired guy in the picture. I didn't even know if it was possible, but I had three weeks to stop the future from happening.**_

* * *

_ban·shee  
__Noun  
__1. (Irish Mythology) A female spirit whose wailing warns of an impending death in a house.  
__2. A loud scream._

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to gentle singing on Siren's part.

"You know it's a cloudy day here, spring will be well worth the wait... now I'm tempted to travel to your state just to steal some sunshine... you and I, well we could be just fine..."

It didn't matter that she didn't know all the words, or that there wasn't any background music. It instantly calmed my nerves and made me fall into a trance.

"I'll fall asleep, that's right... I'll fall asleep tonight, with nothing on my mind... except for the sunlight..." Siren's singing faded into a gentle humming. I snapped out of my trance and sat up.

"Siren, what was that for!?"

"Shhh!" she hissed, bringing her finger to her lips. In her arms she held a now sleeping Echo.

"Again, what was that for?" I whispered.

"She was going to burn her notebook; she said it made you upset." Siren held out the slightly burned booklet to me.

"Oh crap. Thanks Siren. When she wakes up, tell her you burned it for her."

"And what if she asks why she was sleeping?"

"Um... you were trying to make sure she didn't burn herself. She'll believe it."

Siren stood up straight and saluted me. "Yes, Fearless Leader!"

"Good job, Sergeant Siren!" I saluted her back.

We both laughed and I went about making breakfast. The stove still didn't work, but I could heat up a pan enough to make eggs. And if you're bothered about us being 2% bird and still eating eggs, let me just tell you that we _would_ all be vegetarian, being treated like livestock for the majority of our childhoods and all. But if you humans would just learn to appreciate every scrap of food like it was pure gold, like us, you wouldn't turn down a bit of bacon and an egg or two for the world.

Siren shuffled into the dusty kitchen.

"Did you-?" I started to ask.

"Put Echo in our room and put out the fire in the fireplace? Yes, I did." She smiled and I ruffled her hair like she was a little kid again.

"Come on Sergeant Siren, let's have some breakfast."

"Hey, did you-?" Siren started.

"Hide the sketchbook from Echo and put cheese in the eggs like you like them? Yes, I did." I smiled and we laughed. Siren was my best friend, despite being four years younger than me.

We sat down at the splintered kitchen table and started eating. It wobbled like always so I stuck my foot under the broken leg.

Siren gulped. "Thanks," she said.

"No problem," I answered.

"So..."

"So?"

"Are you, like, worried?"

"About what?"

"You know what I mean, Magpie."

"Oh, you mean, that I'm worried about that a seven-year-old can see the future and just predicted my-"

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

"What was that!?" Siren hissed in a low voice.

"The door... maybe?"

"Don't answer it, this place is supposed to be abandoned."

"I know."

We stayed silent for a few more seconds, then the banging sound returned.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

"Let's go to your room, okay?"

I nodded.

We rose slowly from our seats, deserting our meal, and made our way down the hall, dodging the patches of floor that creaked and grabbing the emergency packs on the way.

"Better put in earplugs, Mags." Siren held some out to me. "Just in case."

"Good idea." I stuffed them in my ears; I put some on Echo too.

Siren tapped my shoulder. I looked up and she started making words with her hands in the air. Sign language. We'd learned it at the Labs.

_I hear someone outside,_ she signed.

_What's it sound like?_ I replied.

_Two people, a man and a woman. I think they're police officers; they're talking to someone on a radio, too._

_What are they saying?_

_One says: "Looks like nobody's home." The other says: "I swear I saw smoke coming from the chimney."_

I looked at Echo, still sleeping. Siren tapped my shoulder a bunch and shook her head.

_They're breaking in!_ she signed frantically.

"Then get ready to scream," I whispered, not bothering to sign it.

Siren nodded and I shook Echo awake, explaining our situation to her quickly. I fastened a pack onto Siren and one onto myself. I took them each by the hand and led them down the hallway to the back door. Echo fidgeted and I could tell she was silently saying goodbye to our home. I squeezed Siren's hand and directed my gaze towards Echo. She had her eyes closed. I wanted to give her time to say farewell to our only normal home we'd had for more than a couple weeks.

Siren shook her head, she was getting impatient. I waited a couple more seconds, and then nudged Echo. She opened her eyes and looked up at me. I pointed towards the door and she nodded.

We'd waited too long. The police officers had covered both entrances. They busted the doors down at exactly the same time and had us cornered. Siren took no time to react; she opened her mouth and let out a horrible scream. The ear plugs only muffled the sound, so Echo and I clamped our hands over our ears.

It wouldn't have surprised me if the cops' heads exploded. Siren hadn't had to use her power in years; I'd expect it to be much more developed now. But instead, their ears just bled a little and the man passed out.

"Go! Go! Go!" I pushed my sisters out the door and we took off running into the woods surrounding our once again abandoned house.

* * *

**So, the action is starting! Yay!**

**The song that Siren is singing at the beginning is "Don't Quit, Not Quite" by HeyHiHello (it was recommended by a friend).**

**Hey! I tried to draw a picture Magpie! I don't think it's a very good sketch, but I put it up in the "Extra Stuff" page on my website (link in profile) for those who want to see it.**

**You'll all love the next chapter, I just know it!**

**~Divide /0**

**PS: Some people have been asking if Max and the Flock will make an appearance in this story. Sorry, but I'm gonna have to say "no" to that one. I want this story to be all original characters. The only thing that's the same about this and the MR series is the wings.**


	4. Echo

**2-1-13**

**RECAP**

_**"Go! Go! Go!" I pushed my sisters out the door and we took off running into the woods surrounding our once again abandoned house.**_

* * *

_ech·o  
__Noun  
__1. A sound or series of sounds caused by the reflection of sound waves from a surface back to the listener.  
__2. (Greek Mythology) A beautiful forest nymph who was cursed by the goddess Hera to only be able to repeat others' voices._

* * *

"I want to go home," Echo sniffled.

"I know sweetie. But we can't." I put my arms around my siblings, each of us crying a little.

"Why not?" Echo asked.

"Because you're a stupid idiot," Banshee snapped.

"_You're a stupid idiot,_" Echo mimicked perfectly.

"Shut up!"

"_Shut up!_"

"Stop it! Both of you!" Usually I don't break up fights between them, but I really didn't want to have to deal with blown eardrums at that moment.

We were resting in a clearing in a forest after a long flight. We'd stayed low and flown just above the tall pine trees of a Colorado national forest to avoid being seen.

"You know that I was just trying to be helpful," Echo looked up at me, "right, Magpie?"

I didn't answer her. I kept staring at the trees straight ahead of me. The shadows were long in the sunset.

"She's not answering you because you're the reason we're homeless again," said Banshee.

Echo ignored her. "Magpie?"

_Snap._

I stood up slowly, letting go of them both.

"You drove her away, idiot."

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

"Shhh!" I hissed. "I think I hear something!"

Thatmade them quiet down.

"Is somebody there?" I asked the forest.

"No, I'm just a tree that can move and talk." I heard laughter from behind some foliage.

"Show yourself!" I commanded.

"Ooo, scary voice. I bet you have a really big mouth, too." It was the same mocking voice, but coming from behind me. It was a male voice, for sure.

I turned around but saw nothing out of place. Just Echo and Siren sitting there with wide eyes.

"Get out here and stop being a coward!"

"Not a chance," said the voice, right next to me. I turned, but there wasn't anything there.

I turned to Echo, convinced she was just pranking me.

"Echo, stop playing."

She shook her head. "Not me!" She looked just as freaked out as I felt, and so did Siren. At least I knew that I wasn't hearing things.

"Who are you!?" I screamed.

"A ghost! Duh!" The voice was above me now, which was pretty much impossible because there weren't any trees hanging over me.

I decided that this guy, ghost or not, was just trying to mess with us. I couldn't stand back and watch me and my sisters go insane. He _had _made a twig snap earlier, didn't he? _Real_ ghosts don't snap twigs, they can't be touched. But hey, anything I can touch, I can punch in the face.

Or I _could_ just mess with him back.

_Oh, this'll be fun,_ I thought.

I turned towards Siren and blinked a few times. She got the message and realized what I was planning on doing right away. See, that's why I love Siren, we have this mental connection where we know what each other is thinking. I'd be proud to call her my real sister.

"Oh no!" I said in mock fright. "This forest must be haunted, whatever shall we do?" I rolled my eyes.

"I don't know, Magpie. I guess we'd better give the ghost what it wants," said Siren, matching my tone.

"But we don't have to give in... we're more powerful than some ghost, Siren. We can control the weather, do ghosts like rain?"

I snapped my fingers. Thunder rumbled and lightning cracked; though the sky stayed clear... Echo had joined in our fun.

Siren stood up and laughed at the sky. "I'm singing in the rain, singing in the rain!" she yelled. Then she started singing her favorite song again: "You know it's a cloudy day here, spring will be well worth the wait!"

Echo and I could fight off the few lines of song because we were accustomed to it, but the newcomer had never heard a Siren-song before. I half expected some random guy to fall out of a tree any second now, but he must've been really strong.

"Stop that! Ghosts don't like singing!"

"Oh yeah? Well, you'll have to come shut her up yourself then!" I called.

Siren was probably scared to death right about then, but she didn't break a note and kept right on singing.

"Really?" the voice replied, getting angrier. "What if I shut you up instead?"

My plan was working. "Okay, ghost, come and get me!"

The next thing that I did was probably the weirdest trick by far. I used my powers to control the rocks lying around the forest floor. There was lots of metal and mineral in them, I guess. I made them rise off the ground and circle around me, like little planets and I was the sun. They moved so fast I couldn't even see them. They acted like a shield, to phantoms and people alike.

I realized that this might just drive the guy to pick on Echo or Siren instead, so I made shields for them too.

Suddenly, I felt something on my neck. Like a breeze... but there was no wind today.

"Boo," the voice hissed.

He must've gotten inside my shield before I'd gotten the walls up. _Crap._

I twirled around and my fist came into contact with something hard.

My shields fell to the ground and so did the boy. His figure appeared out of thin air. He collapsed at my feet and I planted my foot on his chest. His nose gushed blood.

"The secret to stealth is not revealing yourself. Duh." I rolled my eyes at him.

All of a sudden, I heard laughter off to my left: "DUDE! You just got OWNED! By a GIRL!" Another boy, younger than the one I had under my boot, stumbled out of the trees, clutching his stomach from laughter.

"Siren!" I commanded.

"On it!"

In a flash, she had the newcomer in a headlock.

"_Dude!_ You just got _owned!_ By a _girl!_" Echo mimicked.

"Hey, sweet trick," the guy below me chuckled and spat blood.

"Mine or her's?" I asked, innocently.

"Her's, but yours is pretty cool too. You must be real fat to have a gravitational pull like that."

I kicked him in the face.

"Wow, that hurt," he announced, unfazed. "Hey, you've got a nice, leveled foot."

"Don't get all mathematical with me."

"Oh yeah? Slope! Numerator! Perpendicular!"

"I'll make my fist perpendicular to your face!" I screamed at him.

"Damn, girl. You got guts. Mind letting me up now?"

"Not a chance." I smiled sweetly at him.

"Can I at least fix my nose?"

"No."

"Too bad." He raised his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. A few seconds later, his face stopped bleeding. His nose no longer looked crooked.

"How the hell...?"

"I've got a few tricks of my own, care for me to show you them?"

"Not if you turn invisible again."

"I promise, I won't."

"Just let him up," said Siren, obviously getting bored just watching us snap at each other while she held back a squirming boy in her arms.

"Fine!" I leaned down and grabbed his wrist, hauling him up. Echo watched us all intently.

"What _are_ you?" I finally asked.

"Same as you, I suppose." He carefully squared his shoulders. A big, dark wing extended from one side of his torso. "We saw you land here. Unbelievable odds, huh?" The guy wiped more blood away from his face with his sleeve.

I was about to ask him something along the lines of "who do you think you _are_!?" But something stopped me...

I got my first good look at his face. I realized that I didn't need to know his name, or even the reason why he was here.

All I needed to know was that he had one brown eye, and one blue eye.

* * *

**Dun dun duuuunnnnnn!**

**The song that Siren sings in this one is the same as last chapter's.**

**Tell me what you think of the different-colored-eye-boy so far. And what about his friend, the younger one that Siren was guarding?**

**Review please!**

**~Divide /0**


	5. Icarus

**2-8-13**

**RECAP**

_**I got my first good look at his face. I realized that I didn't need to know his name, or even the reason why he was here.**_

_**All I needed to know was that he had one brown eye, and one blue eye.**_

* * *

_ic·a·rus  
__Noun  
__1. (Greek Mythology) The son of Daedalus who, in escaping from Crete on artificial bronze wings made for him by his father, flew so close to the sun that the wax that held his wings together melted, and he fell into the ocean.  
__2. An asteroid with an eccentric orbit approaching within 30 million kilometers (19 million miles) of the sun._

* * *

I let go of his wrist and stumbled backwards.

"Gee, what's wrong with her?" the smaller boy asked. Siren had let go of him.

"It's just my aura of awesomeness. It's too powerful for her," the tall one laughed.

He turned to Siren and she must've caught sight of his unnatural eyes, because she let out a sharp breath.

"What's wrong?" Echo asked innocently.

"It's- it's just his smell! He reeks!" I recovered quickly.

My sisters laughed with me.

"Shut up, I could come up with better comebacks in my sleep." The dark-haired guy rolled his eyes. "So, what's your name again? Cowpie?"

"It's _Mag_pie!"

"Well, let's see."

"See what?"

"Your wings, duh."

Siren caught my gaze and I nodded. We all extended our wings. Echo's small dapple-gray owl's wings. Siren's sky blue jay's wings. My huge black and white speckled magpie's wings.

"Sweeet."

"So, let's see yours," Siren said, shoving the younger, blond one.

He shrugged and snapped out his small wings. They were a shimmering gold-bronze color.

"And yours?" I crossed my arms and looked at the older one.

When he brought his wings out all the way, I realized that they weren't completely black, like I'd thought. They were really dark brown, fading into a charcoal color at the bottom.

"Pretty," I said.

"Hey, I'm not a _girl._ They're either hot or handsome, not_ pretty_."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"What's your name?" Echo finally jumped into the conversation.

"I'm Ajax, what's your name, honey?" he asked in a voice that you just can't help but use in the presence of a seven-year-old. _Hey! That's _my_ voice!_

"I'm Echo, and I'm seven years old!" She stood up and skipped over to him. He reached down and picked her up, swinging her around. She giggled.

"I'm sixteen," he said to her.

"Just like Magpie!"

"Sixteen, huh?" Ajax glanced tauntingly at me.

"Yeah," I snarled.

"Ajax, guess what I can do!" Echo interrupted our staring match.

"What can you do, sweetie?" he asked.

"I can _echo_," she announced in Ajax's voice. Echo laughed at her own joke, so did Ajax.

"That's clever. Do _you_ know what _I _can do?"

"You can turn invisible! Right?"

"That's right." Ajax smiled. "You're really smart, Echo."

I opened my mouth to mention that anybody with a couple brain cells could've figure that out and that Echo didn't need false encouragement for it, but she interrupted me.

"Thank you," she answered shyly.

"And so polite, too." Ajax tapped his finger on her nose and set her down gently. "_You_," he said, turning to me, "not so much."

I ignored his comment. "So what's _your_ name?" I asked the young, blond one.

He stood up straighter and saluted me. "Icarus, 11 years old, incredibly handsome explosives and fireworks expert, at your service." He bowed. "Ma'am," he added.

"_This _one's smart." I jabbed my finger at him. "But... come on Siren, Echo, we're leaving."

"Good," Siren snapped.

"What!?" Echo whined.

"Sorry, it was nice meeting you, but we really have to go now." I smiled in mock apology. "Ciao!" I waved goodbye, thankful to finally be leaving.

"But- but-" Icarus stuttered.

"Hey, hey, hey, wait, wait, wait." Ajax stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

"What!?" I spat.

"Can we have some food first?"

I looked at him like he'd just asked "_Can we have your head on stick first?"_

"No!" I shouted in his face.

"Please...?" Icarus came up to me and looked me in the face with wide, round, emerald eyes.

"Um..." I hesitated.

"We haven't had real food in forever," Ajax added.

"We should give them some Mags," Siren whispered.

"Yeah, they look really hungry," Echo joined in.

For the first time, I realized that I could count Ajax's ribs through his shirt and that Icarus's cheeks were hollow. But I wasn't about to give my potential killer any food.

"No, we brought enough for ourselves, that's it."

Everybody started whining at once.

"Hey! What side are you two on, anyway?" I asked my sisters.

"They're starving, _Magpie._" Siren put emphasis on my name.

Magpie. Stupid, selfish, self-centered, stubborn, Magpie.

"Fine!" I threw my hands in the air and everybody cheered.

We all sat down together in a circle, boys on one side, and girls on the other.

I passed around the food that I didn't need to cook first, like we usually do. Then I got out a pan to start cooking meat on.

"Icky, your turn to get firewood," Ajax munched on a cracker.

_"Your turn"? I haven't heard those words in a while,_ I thought. If I needed firewood, or anything else for that matter, I'd send Siren or Echo to get it and they do it without question. I'm the leader. That's how it works.

"Icky?" Siren laughed, bringing me back to the present.

"Don't call me that!"

"I think it's cute."

"Oh, never mind then, you can call me Icky all you want."

I caught Ajax's eye and the corners of his mouth quirked up. I couldn't help but smile back.

Then I shook my head and got myself together. "No need for a fire."

I heated up the pan and threw on some bacon.

"You actually have _real bacon_!?" It was Ajax's turn to be impressed. Not like I was ever impressed with him, of course.

"Yeah, and we gotta eat it quick because it'll go bad."

"_That_, I can deal with."

"You and I, well we could be just fine, if only I knew you had the time... but if ever you come back with me and turn my gray skies upright blue, I'd feel right at home to hold your hand and chase the clouds away with you..."

Ajax's eyes suddenly dropped.

"Siren! No singing!" I snapped.

"He was _asking_ for it," Siren explained, "literally."

"Whoa..." Icarus's eyes were wide. "That was _awesome_."

"Thanks." Siren blushed.

...

After the meal, Ajax and Icarus sat back with full bellies, probably for the first time in ages.

"So, like, what now?" Siren asked.

Ajax laughed. "I don't know, it looks like _you're_ in charge here," he looked at me, "what do you think?"

"You don't _ask_ Mags what_ she_ wants, she only _tells_ you what _you_ want." Us girls laughed.

"Yeah, and right now, you want to get up and get out of here, before I digest this food and-"

"Wait, wait, wait, we can't fly with full stomachs! We'll just barf it all up," Ajax protested, "like that one time!" Icarus laughed and they fist bumped. _Boys._

"Fine, but we're only waiting until tomorrow."

"Good plan. I'm first watch, then." Ajax started to stand up.

"No!" Siren and I both shouted.

"Jeez, what's your problem?"

"I called dibs on first!" I said quickly.

Ajax put his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, okay, fine."

I stood up and walked over to the edge of the clearing. I sat down with my back against a tree. I pulled my ear plugs out of my pocket and stuffed them in my ears.

"Take it away, Siren."

"I wish the music would carry me away, because I don't wanna be stuck down here. You know the lyrics and I know the melody. Why should we wait on anything at all? How could I dream of anything but you?" I saw her mouth the words to the familiar song.

Everybody's eyes drooped and they all fell fast asleep right away. Once she finished her song, I took out the ear plugs and she came over and sat next to me.

"We never got a chance to talk about... anyway, what are we going to do?" she whispered.

"Wait until morning," I answered.

"But, what about after that?"

"I don't know."

"Well, you should think about it carefully."

"I know."

"Don't be selfish."

"I know."

"Think about Echo."

"I know!" I almost shouted. "But you know what else I know!? That guy," I pointed to the sleeping Ajax, "is going to kill me!"

"You don't know that. He was nice to Echo."

"Yeah, because she's a little kid and he's probably faking it."

"Maybe, but I don't think so Mags."

"It's just because of that Icarus guy, isn't it?"

She stood up and smiled. "Ajax isn't the only one who can fake." She winked at me and started climbing the tree behind me. "Come on, I'll take the watch. I promise I'll scream _really_ loud if someone tries to stab you in your sleep."

I smiled back up at her, hidden in the branches. "Thanks Siren."

"That's _Sergeant_ Siren, to you."

I laughed. "Okay, goodnight Sergeant."

"We'll talk about what to do in the morning. Goodnight _Fearless_ Leader."

I nodded. It's too bad I was scared to death at the moment...

* * *

**Siren's songs in this chapter are the one from last chapter and "The Real You" by Alex Goot.**

**What do you all think of Ajax and Icarus so far? And the girls' reactions to them?**

**Thanks so much for reading!**

**~Divide /0**


	6. Ajax

**2-14-13**

**RECAP**

_**I smiled back up at her, hidden in the branches. "Thanks Siren."**_

_**"That's Sergeant Siren, to you."**_

_**I laughed. "Okay, goodnight Sergeant."**_

_**"We'll talk about what to do in the morning. Goodnight Fearless Leader."**_

_**I nodded. It's too bad I was scared to death at the moment...**_

* * *

_a·jax  
__Noun  
__1. A Greek hero of the Trojan war. He was proverbial for his size and strength._

* * *

The next morning, I jumped up and found that everybody was asleep.

_Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap._

I looked up into the branches where Siren had been the lookout. She was fast asleep and dreaming, too. Oh, when she woke up, I'd kill her!

Speaking of killing... I looked around and counted heads.

Siren, Echo, Icarus, me... who was missing?

"Don't flinch!" His voice came from right next to me.

I stood up, and in a flash, I had an invisible Ajax pinned on his back. I held his wrists to the ground and I sat on his chest.

"You jumped!" Ajax jeered, becoming visible once again.

"I'm gonna kill you!" I breathed.

"I'd like to see you try." He pushed me up and flipped me over so that he was sitting on top of me.

"Get off of me!" I yelled.

"Not a chance."

"Get. Off. Of. Me!" I repeated. My adrenaline was seriously pumping now.

"Hey Cowpie, do you know the story of Ajax? He's the Greek warrior that I named myself after. He was known for his strength. Challenged by no one, feared by all. Pretty accurate, huh?"

"Banshee!" I screamed.

"Banshee?" He looked taken aback.

A high-pitched wailing sound came from above us. Ajax let go of me to hold his hands over his ears. He rolled off of me and I pinned him on his back again, resisting the urge to slam my hands over my ears.

"That's enough, Siren!" I announced.

The wailing ceased and she came over to me. Echo and Icarus had woken up to the screaming too. They all gathered around me and Ajax. Icarus was laughing too hard to even speak, Echo looked confused, Siren was trying to apologize for falling asleep, and Ajax and I were having a staring match.

It was like we were having an imaginary conversation without words:

Ajax: _So, what now, Cowpie?_

Me:_ I don't know, AJ._

Ajax: _Well, you know I can just flip you back over, right?_

Me: _You cannot!_

Ajax: _Wanna see me try?_

Me: _No._

Ajax: _Aw, had enough, Mags?_

I sighed. "Fine." I got up off of him and he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You knew I was just joking, right?"

"Yeah," I lied.

"Then why'd you panic like that?"

"Wouldn't you have done the same thing?"

"No."

"Oh yeah, challenged by no one." I rolled my eyes.

"Ha! He told you that stupid story?" Icarus could barely talk he was laughing so much.

"Whatever." I could tell by the way he shook the scene off that he _was_ really sorry for scaring me. Ajax shrugged and got up, offering his hand to me.

I didn't take it, but stood up anyway. My legs felt like jelly from the adrenaline wearing off, like I'd just gotten off a roller coaster or something.

"So, like, your singing thing works both ways?" Icarus asked Siren once he had gotten over his fit of giggles.

"Uh... yeah," she answered blankly.

"That is so awesome..."

"Uh, thanks."

"Come on Echo, we're leaving," I said, grabbing both of my sister's hands.

"What? So soon?" Ajax smiled at me. "Not even staying for breakfast?"

"Oh yeah, sure. We'll stay for breakfast, and lunch, and dinner!" I started walking off into the woods with Echo and Siren. "Just wait, pretty soon we'll be staying for the rest of our lives, you guys eating our food and-"

"Why not?" Ajax interrupted.

I stopped walking abruptly and Siren ran into me.

"What?" I asked.

"I said: 'Why not?'" he repeated.

"Why not what?"

"Team up, be together; we'd be like one, big, happy family." He smirked.

I looked down at Echo and Siren. They looked back up at me with wide, pleading eyes.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked in a hushed tone so that the boys wouldn't hear us.

"Like he said, why not?" Echo asked.

I eyed Siren, but she was looking at Icarus again, smiling sweetly. I rolled my eyes. _Faking._ Yeah, right.

"Because, it's just more mouths to feed," I explained, turning back to Echo.

"But there are more people to gather food," Echo said.

"But it's just more people that need defending in a fight," I replied.

"But it's more people that can _help_ defend," Siren reasoned.

I sighed. "You know he's a year younger than you, right?"

She just rolled her eyes back at me.

I started to make a mental list in my head, weighing the good and bad of the situation.

_Strength in numbers._ Good.

_More people that need protection._ Bad.

_More people to find food._ Good.

_More people to feed._ Bad.

_Less responsibility. _Good.

_Shared leadership with a completely annoying idiot._ Bad.

_Possibly getting murdered in my sleep._ Very, very bad!

"Ugh, this is too confusing. Who wants to go our separate ways and never see each other again?" I asked, deciding to break my autocracy for the time being. I straightened up and looked at the boys. They seemed shocked by my sudden willing for a fair vote.

I, of course, raised my own hand. Nobody else did.

"And who wants to team up, sharing food, first aid, and responsibilities?" I mumbled.

Everyone raised their hands silently.

Ajax threw his arm around my shoulder, laughing. "Two words, Cowpie: Instant. Win."

* * *

**So, what do you guys think of Magpie's decision? ****By the way, sorry it's so short. It's only like a thousand words. I suck.**

**Thanks for putting up with me!**

**~Divide /0**


	7. Dream

**2-22-13**

**RECAP**

_**"Ugh, this is too confusing. Who wants to go our separate ways and never see each other again?" I asked, deciding to break my autocracy for the time being. I straightened up and looked at the boys. They seemed shocked by my sudden willing for a fair vote.**_

_**I, of course, raised my own hand. Nobody else did.**_

_**"And who wants to team up, sharing food, first aid, and responsibilities?"**_

_**Everyone raised their hands silently.**_

_**Ajax threw his arm around my shoulder, laughing. "Two words, Cowpie: Instant****.**** Win."**_

* * *

_dream_  
_Noun_  
_1. A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep._

* * *

"Hey Magpie!" Ajax taunted.

I turned and looked up at him, dodging a clump of spit.

I could hear him and Icarus bust out laughing above me.

We were flying now. The air rushing through my feathers, the wind in my hair. It _would_ have been a pleasurable experience...

I glared at Siren flying next to me, daring her to even so much as smirk at Ajax's trick.

The corners of her mouth quirked up for a second, but she closed her eyes and shook her head. I let it pass. I turned to look for Echo, but I was met with only thin air.

"Wait, where's Echo?" I stopped flying and spun around. She was nowhere to be seen. Just clouds and open, vast, infinite sky. Without hesitating another second, I dove straight down. We were still above the same forest, but the trees were thicker here.

"Echo! Echo!" I called, dashing through the foliage, not caring about the branches tearing at my hair and face. I heard Siren calling her name too, and maybe even the boys' voices were in there somewhere, also.

_How could I let this happen!?_ I screamed at myself. _I'm so stupid!_

"Guys! Over here!"

I directed my feet to guide me towards Icarus's voice.

When I reached them, I found Echo curled up in a ball underneath a tree. Icarus was standing off to the side, not approaching her.

I rushed over to her and quickly checked her for injuries; she wasn't bleeding, and that was good enough for me.

I balled my fist in her shirt as Siren came crashing into the clearing. "Echo! Why didn't you stay in the air!?" I shrieked at her. "We _always_ stay in the air if we get separated! You're so dumb!"

"I- I'm sorry!" she squeaked.

Suddenly, someone crashed into me - like, literally with their whole body - and threw me aside.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Echo!" Ajax wrapped his arms around her, cradling her in his lap.

She sobbed into his shoulder. I was about to yell at Echo for being a crybaby and for her to shut up and pull herself together, but Ajax glared at me.

"Uh, Magpie?" Siren inched closer to me. "Can I talk to you for a second?" She grabbed my arm and led me away from the scene.

"I can't leave Echo alone with him!" I protested. "She's not safe."

"Magpie, I'm more worried about _your_ safety."

"But-"

"I saw the look he gave you. You can't get on his bad side now!"

I looked at her and realized she was right. Not only was it stupid of me to be mad at Echo for getting lost, it was even _more_ stupid for me to even _think_ about getting in a fight with Ajax over it.

"Fine," I sighed.

"Okay, promise me you'll try to be nice?"

I nodded. _Wait,_ since when did _she _become the one that had to calm _me_ down?

But instead of protesting further, I followed her back to the others. Ajax was still trying to comfort Echo, while Icarus stood awkwardly off to the side.

"Say sorry," Siren hissed at me.

I rolled my eyes half-heartedly. I crossed my arms and tapped my heel on the ground. "I'm sorry Echo; I know it wasn't your fault." I looked up at the sky and blew on the hair hanging in my face, I couldn't meet her eyes.

Echo had stopped crying, and Ajax let go of her. She came up to me, sat down at my feet, and hugged my leg. That was just like her.

"Echo, get off," I mumbled. But I couldn't help but feel a little flame of contentedness flicker inside me.

She rubbed her face into my knee. I noticed that she was only clinging to me with one arm.

"What's wrong with your hand?" I asked sweetly.

"I don't know. I can't move it."

"Why didn't you tell me before!?"

"I- I don't know..."

_Because you never gave her the chance, you idiot,_ I thought to myself. I knelt down and picked her up, careful not to touch her arm. I prodded it and she flinched a bit. "Oh Echo..." I sighed. She must've fallen after getting too tired to fly. No wonder she didn't stay up in the air. I felt horrible. "Siren, get me some sticks, I'll have to make a splint."

"Oh, it's okay, no need for a splint." Ajax stood up and crossed over to me. He reached out and gingerly took Echo's forearm in both hands.

I was about to pull her away from him, but then I remembered what he did to his nose after I'd broken it. We all watched in awe as Ajax lightly tugged Echo's bone structure back into place. After sixty seconds, she could move her hand again.

"There, good as new," he mused.

I looked at him. He smiled in triumph.

Echo laughed. "Thank you, Ajax!" Her tears were gone and her spirit was back.

"You're welcome, it was my pleasure." But he didn't look at Echo; he only continued to glare at me.

...

That night, Ajax insisted on first watch, because of the last night's events.

Honestly, I was exhausted. I figured just a wink of sleep would be worth the risk now, especially if I'd have to fight Ajax in the mere future. I'd need my strength.

"I think you'll last the night Mags, don't worry," Siren reassured me.

After Ajax had perched himself in a tree and put in his earplugs, he gave us the thumbs up and Siren started singing.

"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down, you'll be alright, no one can hurt you now, come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound... hold onto this lullaby, even when the music's gone... just close your eyes, the sun is going down, you'll be alright, no one can hurt you now, come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound..."

My eyelids drooped at her angelic voice. In seconds I was fast asleep.

...

_In my dreams, I flew through an evening sky of red and pink and orange. __It was a blissful flight. __That is, until a dark shadow passed over me and blocked out the sunset._

"_Sup, Cowpie."_

"_Ajax? Really? I'm dreaming of AJ?" I said out-loud._

"_Yup! I guess that makes me the boy of your dreams or something." He laughed, spreading his wings to glide around me mockingly._

"_Look, you've already ruined my real life; you really have to invade my dreams too?"_

"_Yeah, duh!"_

"_Well, shut up!"_

"_Not a chance. I guess you'll just have to put up with me until morning."_

_I tried to ignore him._

"_Well you're not very fun," he stated. "I'm gonna go invade someone else's dream, but don't get too comfortable, I'll be waking you up for your watch duty in a little while."_

_He vanished into thin air._

_I sighed. What a weird dream._

...

"Cowpie, Cowpie!" someone hissed at me.

"Wha-?" I asked groggily.

"Your turn to take watch," Ajax whispered.

"Oh, just a sec." I sat up and rubbed the sleep away from my eyes. I pulled my hair into a ponytail. I guess it had come loose during my sleep.

"You look horrible," Ajax stated. "Nightmare?" He smirked, almost as if he knew I'd been dreaming about him.

"Shut up."

"Not a chance. I guess you'll just have to put up with me until morning."

His unmistakable resemblance to his dream-self seemed... unearthly. "Why's that?" I asked.

"Because we're not gonna wake up Siren just so that she can sing me back to sleep."

"Just wake her up; it's in her job description. She should have to sing to us if I order it."

Ajax scowled at me, breaking the smart-ass act. "Look, I don't like the way you lead and you don't like the way I do, I can tell."

"I thought that was obvious. So what?"

"You rule by order, commanding them to do things for you, just because they're younger than you."

It didn't sound like a question, but I answered anyway. "Yeah. I have to be like that if I want them to do anything other than whine."

"Or you could ask them nicely," he said. "I bet that would work on Siren and Echo, they're _nice_. I have to put up with Icarus twenty-four, seven. He's a little devil with his explosions and small forest fires."

"Yeah, but you only have _one_ screaming kid to put up with, I have two."

"Hey, don't say that. We're all together now. We each have _three_ kids to look after, now."

"I don't know about you, but I only care about the well-being of _my_ sisters. And I don't care if you two have to starve in the meantime," I snapped.

Ajax looked taken aback. "Well, I care about the well-being of _all_ of the kids. And whether you like it or not, I'm not gonna let_ any_ of them starve. Even you."

Now it was my turn to look surprised.

"Well- I mean-" he stuttered. Obviously, that's not what he had wanted to say.

I pouted. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... fine."

"Really?" His face lit up.

"Yeah, whatever. If you care that much about Echo, Siren, and me, I can't change it. If you would really put _us_ first, that's cool with me. It's just more for us."

He hesitated. "Sister?" he asked. He licked his hand and held it out to me.

I sighed. I ran my hand through the dirt and leaves on the forest floor, picking up dust with it. I shook his hand. "Brother."

* * *

**Siren's song: Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift (recommended by a reviewer)**

**Ooo... what do you think so far? Magpie's dream seemed awfully disturbing if you ask me... haha, I guess I'm the writer, so you'll have to wait to figure it out, but in the mean time, what do you think about her agreement with Ajax?**

**Also, I got a question about the cover of this story. Like, what it's supposed to be. Don't worry, it'll make sense soon enough. BWAHAHA!**

**Thanks so much for reading and everything.**

**~Divide /0**


	8. Telescopic

**3-23-13**

**RECAP**

_**I pouted. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... fine."**_

_**"Really?" His face lit up.**_

_**"Yeah, whatever. If you care that much about Echo, Siren, and me, I can't change it. If you would really put us first, that's cool with me. It's just more for us."**_

_**He hesitated. "Sister?" he asked. He licked his hand and held it out to me.**_

_**I sighed. I ran my hand through the dirt and leaves on the forest floor, picking up dust with it. I shook his hand. "Brother."**_

* * *

_tel·e·scop·ic_  
_Adjective_  
_1. Capable of viewing and magnifying distant objects._

* * *

After a while, Ajax fell asleep and the moon crawled farther up into the sky.

I thought about my decision. I guess I had thought it'd been a good choice at the time. I was sure that I'd regret it later. I glanced at Ajax, sprawled out in the grass, taking up as much room as possible and lying there like he was about to make a snow angel with no snow.

He was cute when he slept.

I did not just think that.

No no no no no no no.

This must be why I hate him. Among other things, he absolutely, irresistibly, charmingly annoying.

I didn't have a watch or any way of keeping track of time, so when I thought it had been about two hours, I woke up Siren for her turn. She promised about a million times that she wouldn't fall asleep this time and then she sung me back to sleep. Thankfully, I didn't have any more dreams.

...

The next morning, I woke up to everyone shuffling around, packing up food and supplies. Ajax greeted me with a crooked grin and a "Good morning, sunshine." I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and waited for my eyes to focus, but they never did. Something wasn't quite right.

I sat up and my line of sight shifted quicker than it should have, like a computer mouse with the sensitivity turned up too high. I made myself dizzy from just darting my eyes around the clearing.

I started panicking. "Something's wrong with my eyes!"

Siren raced over right away and knelt in front of me. I tried to stare straight ahead and keep from getting dizzier, but my vision went all over the place.

"What!?" she asked frantically. "What's wrong? Everything looks fine."

Just when I was on the brink of having a complete meltdown, I thought I'd finally figured out what was up with my vision. Everything was _zoomed in_. Like, on a telescope. I reached out to touch Siren's face, and I was surprised by how much actual distance there was between us. Her face in front of me was much bigger than it should have been. I could see lots of little details that I shouldn't have been able to, like the smile lines by her eyes and specks of dirt and dust on her face, too.

"My vision... everything's all... close up," I tried to explain, hopelessly.

"Let me see that," Ajax said, kneeling beside Siren and taking my head in his hands. He leaned in real close and stared into my eyes. We were inches apart and his hands on the sides of my face burned. His face wasn't any less irritating to look at up close, and those striking blue and brown eyes were absolutely huge. I couldn't focus on just one of his eyes. The blue one. The brown one. The blue one. The brown one.

Ajax grinned. "Your pupils are the size of saucers," he stated plainly, letting go of my head.

I rubbed my eyes and blinked a bunch of times, but nothing changed. "Well what do I do!?" I screamed.

"Magpie, try zooming out." Echo padded over to me and perched herself in my lap.

"What?" I asked, reflexively wrapping my arms around her.

"Just zoom out. Pretend it's like a computer screen." She turned to Ajax and Icarus. "Magpie likes computers," she explained.

"Is that so?" Ajax gave me one of his infamous lopsided smiles. "Nerd."

"Shut up," I said, disgusted by his charming smile from up close. "It's useful, okay?"

"Fine, fine," Ajax said, throwing his hands up in the air. "But it's not helping you now, is it?"

I set my jaw and tried to do what Echo had suggested. I pretended my vision was like a computer monitor, and that if I just scrolled out, it would be back to 100%. _Control minus. Scroll out. Hit the back button._

It worked. The sun was back to being not quite so bright, the blades of grass on the ground not quite so singular and detailed. It was back to normal, and it had worked just like Echo had said it would.

"Ha!" I cheered to myself. "How did you know that would work, Echo?" I tousled her rust-red hair.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I just knew."

I tried zooming back in, and then back out again. It was completely controllable if I put my mind to it. _Just like a computer,_ I thought.

"When you do that, your pupils are funny-looking, Cowpie."

"Your _face_ is funny-looking, AJ." I gave Ajax a _we-might-be-family-now-but-that-doesn't-mean-I-hav e-to-like-it_ face.

He gave me a quirky smile, just like he always does.

"It must be like when you found out you could heal stuff, Ajax," Icarus suggested. "Like a new skill."

"I want one too!" Echo whined. Sometimes I forgot that under all of her deep thought and fortune-telling, Echo was just a little, regular, whining kid.

"Maybe you did get one, sweetie," Ajax said. "Try it for yourself, just like Magpie did."

I was about to say that it was improbable that any one of us got a new skill besides me, when Ajax glared at me and silently told me to shut up. Echo scrunched up her face and it looked like Siren had to keep from laughing. The rest of us sat patiently as Echo tried out her "new power."

"It didn't work," she finally said.

"Ha! Who cares? I have two now, just like the rest of you! Yesss! Boo-yeah!" I looked at Ajax and he grinned, almost as if he knew something I didn't. I ignored it.

Icarus raised his hand and I could tell that he was about to interrupt my joy to remind us that he had _no_ powers, but I was already up. All my life, I'd been intensely jealous of Siren and Echo because they each had two special skills, and I only had one lousy power. Sometimes it came in handy, but mimicking any noise or being able to sing someone into a trance was more useful.

"I guess you've got, like, hawk-vision now," Siren called to me.

"Yeah, I guess I do." I hadn't been this happy in a very long time. "It's like my birthday and Christmas and everything else all in one!" I know normal kids get pretty worked up about holidays and stuff, but we never actually celebrated them. It's not like we were religious or anything, and we didn't actually know when our birthdays were, so we kind of just picked days to eat as much as we wanted and called those our holidays.

"Congratulations, I guess," Ajax managed. "And now, I'm starving."

We all sat down to eat together, like we had the previous day. Only this time, we didn't sit with our own genders.

Siren and Icarus sat together, of course. Echo sat in Ajax's lap.

Because I had finally gotten over my new telescopic talent, that left me to sulk in the corner, hung-over from my decision last night. I couldn't believe I'd agreed to work with this guy. (Cue slight, charming, annoyingly adorable grin from Ajax across the clearing.) He was supposed to kill me, right?

I'd seen Echo's prophecies in action before. I knew they always came true, whether we wanted them or not. Echo was never wrong about the future. Ajax _is_ evil. I had to convince myself of that!

I glanced over at him, giving Echo the last of his own bacon.

That one, simple act was all it took to completely convince me that Ajax was not planning on murdering me. He had been starving when we had found him, and now he was just _giving_ Echo his food? That didn't add up. A cold-blooded killer wouldn't be able to act this nice, could he?

* * *

**SSSSSPPPPRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGGGG BBBBBBRRRREEEEEEAAAAAAKKKKK!**

**I'M BACK ****I'M BACK ****I'M BACK ****I'M BACK ****I'M BACK ****I'M BACK ****I'M BACK ****I'M BACK!**

******ONE WHOLE WEEK OFF OF SCHOOL! YES! I have to say, I've missed you guys!**

******Okay, big news: I added character pictures for this story on my website. There's a link in my profile to it so please, please, _please_ look at them?**

******I'M GLAD TO BE BACK! UPDATES THROUGHOUT SPRING BREAK TO COME!**

******~Divide /0**


	9. Fire

**3-29-13**

**RECAP**

_**I glanced over at him, giving Echo the last of his own bacon.**_

_**That one, simple act was all it took to completely convince me that Ajax was not planning on murdering me. He had been starving when we had found him, and now he was just giving Echo his food? That didn't add up. A cold-blooded killer wouldn't be able to act this nice, could he?**_

* * *

_fire_  
_1. Noun - Combustion or burning, in which substances combine chemically with oxygen from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke._  
_2. Verb - Discharge a gun or other weapon in order to explosively propel a bullet or projectile._

* * *

He caught me staring and he smirked.

I looked down at my food. I felt my ears turn pink, but I didn't care.

"What's the plan, Cowpie?"

"Magpie!" I snapped. "It's _Magpie_!"

"Oh, okay. What's the plan Mudpie?"

I groaned but Siren and Echo laughed.

"I'm killing all of you later," I stated plainly.

"You do that," Ajax said. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, where are we going next? Where were you three headed when we found you?"

"Nowhere in particular," Siren explained. "Some cops showed up at our house so we had to leave really quickly."

"At your _house_? You have a _home_?" Icarus awed.

"_Had_ a home." Siren looked down, sullenly.

"It wasn't much," I said, jutting out my chin. "Just some old shack in the woods." I had never been much for sentimental value, because I always figured that if I got too attached to something, especially an object, it would just weigh me down emotionally. Echo and Siren were the exceptions, but other than them, I planned to never ever become so emotionally attached to something or someone that I couldn't leave them someday. When you live like we do, you realize that's the only way to go about life.

Echo on the other hand was all about sentimental value. She was the one that always insisted on keeping her old sketchbooks even after she'd filled them all up. She was the one who liked to pick up sticks or rocks and keep them forever. I had always hoped she'd grow out of all that though, because it was a waste of space and time.

"You're so lucky to have had an actual roof over your head and everything. How long did you guys live there for?" Ajax asked curiously.

"A year or so. I've lost count," I said. Except, I hadn't. It had been exactly 467 days when we had left our little cabin in the woods. I had counted every day there, savoring our time of peace. I guess I _did_ miss it a little. The third stair that always creaked. The chipped paint. The squeaky door to Echo and Siren's bedroom.

"That's awesome. We had a house for a little while," Icarus said.

"It was really more like a shed," Ajax huffed. "You were really little, Icky, probably younger than Echo is now when we left."

"Why'd you leave?" I couldn't help but ask.

Ajax shrugged. "Same as you, police came to check it out, we had to run."

"That's too bad," I said, seeing the hint of pain in the boys' eyes. "Where had you been heading when we met you?"

"East," Icarus stated plainly.

"Our house was in Oregon. We've slowly but surely been making our way across the country. Jobs here and there, a bit of dumpster diving, and a little bit of theft when necessary."

I supposed that Ajax _did_ seem like the kind of person to have a conscious about stealing stuff. I, on the other hand, had absolutely no problem with it.

"Where were you before your house?" Siren asked, bringing a cold silence to the circle.

"That was six years ago." We all knew what had happen six years ago. "Icarus was five and I was ten," Ajax explained. "I don't remember much..." He trailed off because he knew he wasn't fooling anybody. We all had nearly photographic memories. Whatever he couldn't remember, he didn't _want _to remember.

I was ten, too. When we left the Labs, I mean. Siren was only six, but she was already pretty big and could run or fly if we needed to. I had to carry one-year-old Echo, though. I remembered the fire at the Labs. Everyone says that fire is a bad thing. It's destructive. But I owe my life to that fire.

Ten years is how long they keep you at the Labs. If you can't prove yourself useful in some way by the time your years are up, they perform some kind of surgery on you that will likely kill you in the end. If you _can_ prove yourself useful, well, that's a different matter altogether. I never knew all the details, and I wasn't sure I ever wanted to. Year after year, I had watched my friends and family come and go. I recalled each and every one of their names and faces before I drifted off to sleep at night, even now, six years later.

There were many others like us there. Most of us were avian hybrids, but some had wolf DNA or something like that. There were hundreds of cages lined up in the warehouse they kept us in. I don't remember a time when my cage hadn't been next to Siren's. Echo was too small to have her own cage, but I remember seeing the scientists carry her back and forth as they paced around the warehouse, eyeing the occupied crates. Siren was mostly too young to understand the science part of our wings. She had always seemed to think that everyone - even the scientists - had them.

Hunter and I were unofficially in charge of teaching the little ones.

I looked over at Siren and Echo, now. I can't imagine that Siren recalled much of him. Echo had never known him, she was born after he left. I'd done my best to block it in Siren's mind though, it was a sad memory. Although, now, around our breakfast campfire, I could see her sad look, and I knew that she at least remembered a little.

Hunter had been two years older than me. He was my hero. My idle. I looked up to him and he had taught me everything I knew. I also may or may not have had a little bit of a crush on him. I mean, he was so _cool._ I was obsessed with him ever since his cage had been moved next to mine when I was four. He had these big, brown wings with blue and green on the tips like a mallard's that I found absolutely fascinating. His wings went beautifully with curly black hair and eyes as blue as the chemical they used to clean the floors of the warehouse with. (Shut up, I didn't have the ocean or the sky to compare them to back then.)

"_Hello,"_ he'd said to me when we'd first met. _"I'm Hunter, what's your name?"_

"_I don't have one," _I had answered. I had never thought about it before. We just had number names back then.

"_Well, I'm gonna find you one."_ I had always liked the way he had said that. Not "I'll look for one for you," or "I think I might try and find you one." He said it with determination that made even the simple act of finding me a name sound like a quest.

It only took him a week to come up with an "adequate" name for me. Our section of the warehouse had just been fed and I was asking Hunter if he would give me his food after I'd ate all mine. You can imagine that they didn't give us very large portions at the Labs.

"_You're really selfish, aren't you? And stubborn, too. You know what? I think I'll call you Magpie."_ At first I didn't like it because I thought it sounded ugly, but it grew on me. The name stuck.

Hunter and I were the best of friends. I was even closer to him than I was to Siren at the time. It was really heartbreaking to see him get taken away when he turned ten years old. I almost cried, but Hunter had shushed me. _"Stay strong, Magpie,"_ he had whispered to me like some hero in a book. _"Take care of Siren and the others. And don't ever forget to stay strong."_

The Labs had been even worse after that. More and more of us started getting sick from experimentations and had to leave. I had counted down until my tenth birthday, knowing what the deadline meant. The three of us had been lucky to not get the diseases that everyone else had seemed to have.

And then there was that day. Almost two years later, the day of the fire. Most of us had never even seen fire before, but we knew what it was. Alarms blared and the locks of the cages automatically sprang open. While others hesitated, I didn't think twice. I grabbed Echo and Siren and got out of there as fast as my legs and wings could.

Out into the forest, to freedom, to the outside world. We lost ourselves in the trees and stayed there until the scientists had stopped calling for us. We had thought we were the only ones to escape, the only ones clever enough, but it turns out we were wrong.

I wasn't afraid that I would start crying. I _never_ cried. Hopefully, Siren wouldn't either. Siren had told Echo all about them, but she had never known the others the way we had.

I looked at Ajax and Icarus. Ajax had a heartbreaking look on his face, like he was also remembering old friends from the Labs. I don't remember seeing them at the Labs before, so they had probably just been in a different area of the warehouse where we were all kept in dog crates.

"Ajax, do you remember Nix and Wren?" Icarus asked, looking up at his brother.

Ajax allowed a soft smile, not at all like the crooked ones he gives me. "Yeah, I remember." Ajax laughed a little. "Wren was so tiny, he could barely move when the sickness got to him, they had to take him away. Phoenix turned out okay, though. Lived up to her name, too."

"Why? What'd she do?" I asked, curiously.

"Red hair, just like a flame. You would've liked her, Mags. She was just like you, stubborn and easy to mess with." Ajax grinned. "Isn't that right, Icky?"

Icarus nodded. "Sometimes she got so mad at you that she wouldn't even talk to you." A fleeting smile flickered on his face.

Ajax nodded. "The fire, it was her, you know. She was the one who started it." He stared up at the sun in the cloudless sky.

"Your friend started the fire? How?" I asked, astonished.

"Her powers, of course." Ajax rolled his eyes like that should have been obvious. "Controlling fire, that was her skill. All she needed was to get close to a bunsen burner and the whole place would be up in smoke." Ajax smiled like he was proud of her. Maybe she was younger, and he had taken care of her. It wouldn't have surprised me. I decided not to ask about it though, because it was still kind of a sad topic.

"You would've liked Hunter, too," Echo said. "He was nice, that's what Siren tells me."

"I bet he was, if he was your friend." Ajax nodded. He didn't bother asking what had happened to him, he could probably guess.

"Well!" I said, standing up and brushing off my pants. "We'd better get a move on, then. Siren, scatter the ashes of the fire, will you?"

* * *

**SPRING BREAK: PART TWO**

**Hello again, network! I am currently updating from Chicago at my aunt's house. It's our Easter reunion and I'm pretending to be sleeping to be alone to update. Honestly, the things I do you people.**

**Anyway, a couple big announcements: I re-designed my website and it has a much better look now. I also added a "Characters" page where you can see the pictures and descriptions of the characters from my stories. For this story, I also added pictures of the birds that the character's wings are based on, so check that out.**

**Back to the story: I feel like this chapter was long overdue. People have been asking if these characters went to the School like Max and the Flock, but I changed it slightly and made it the Labs instead. The purpose of the Labs is a bit different than the School's too, but I will get into all that later.**

**And that's about it... how do you like the sound of Hunter and Pheonix and Wren? I might talk more about them later on in the story, also.**

**~Divide /0**


	10. Playground

**June 12th, 2013 (LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! YESSSS!)**

**RECAP**

_**"Well!" I said, standing up and brushing off my pants. "We'd better get a move on, then. Siren, scatter the ashes of the fire, will you?"**_

* * *

**Hello everyone! Before you start reading I just want to tell you that I'm planning on doing a live chat thingy where you can all go to my website and chat with me and other readers for an hour or so and ask me questions about my writing or future projects or other stuff. I don't know _exactly_ when I'll do this, I just wanted to ask you if you'd actually participate if I did it... so... yeah. Happy reading!**

* * *

_play·ground  
Noun  
__1. An outdoor area provided for children to play on, esp. at a school or public park.  
__2. A place where a particular group of people choose to enjoy themselves._

* * *

The feeling of flying was something that I thought I would never be able to get over. Besides the fact that I totally loved heights, flying just had this sense of awesomeness to it that could be matched by nothing else. Flying is usually associated with freedom, right? Well, all those songwriters and poets and authors would be right. It's like riding a motorcycle... but 3D. When you're stuck on the ground, you can only go forward, backward, and left and right. When you're up in the air, you can go up and down and do flips that make your stomach churn in a good way.

Birds don't even know how lucky they are. Even us recombinant DNA experiments envy birds. We're light, sure, but I couldn't even imagine being a tiny little sparrow, darting through tree branches, flying coming completely naturally to me because it had been in my species since the beginning of time. Humans weren't meant to be able to fly, but that didn't mean we couldn't have fun anyway.

Now, flying underneath my little flock, I dipped and dived fast towards the ground, hundreds of feet below me. More than anything, flying is about power. Freedom, sure. But power, that was the best part. I felt sorry for the kids that were stuck down on the ground in school or at home or grounded when their only chance at experiencing even _half_ of what we have is a clunky machine where they couldn't even feel the wind around them.

I stretched my wings to their full extent, like a cat would stretch its back after a nap. Catching the wind, I soared upwards. I wish I still had that mp3 player that I had stolen and that Siren had broken only weeks later when we were younger. Maybe if I saved up enough pickpocketed money then I could buy another.

"Guys, look down!" Ajax called to us.

I whipped my head around, sure that there was some kind of danger I should've been paying attention to instead of spacing out. Except, when I caught Ajax's eyes, he appeared to be smiling. I'd never seen him smile like that before, naturally and wholeheartedly. His teeth might not have been the brightest, and some of them were probably missing from fights and such, but it was quite possibly the best looking smile I'd ever seen.

There was laughter in his brown and blue eyes, almost as if he knew what I was thinking about. After that I broke eye contact with him and I blushed. Hopefully the wind whipping at my face and hair would cover it up.

I glanced down and saw what Ajax had been shouting to us about. There was a small town beneath us.

Icarus gaped. "Dude, it's like... a _city_."

"Yes, that is generally what they're called, Icky." Ajax's smile dropped back down into his regular sideways grin and my heart clenched a little to see his Smile-to-Rule-Them-All go.

"I can't remember the last time we were in a city!" Echo said, flapping her delicate wings.

We all stopped to stare at the city, circling above the puny mortals. I could pick out some obvious buildings, like a big school and a mall, but other than that, we were too high up to make out much. Then I remembered that I didn't have to settle for my _regular_ super vision, I could use my _super_ super vision. I zoomed in just like I had been practicing earlier, and saw the people walking down the streets come into focus. Everything was sharper and brighter. I could make out all the individual people walking around down there.

I refocused my vision on the objects nearer to me, like a camera switching to a different shot mode.

"Hey, Magpie, we should stop for some food. We're running low." Ajax had come up next to me while I wasn't looking.

It was true. My backpack was usually heavy and difficult to fly with was now disturbingly light now. I made a face at Ajax, because I knew the only _real_ reason that he wanted to land was to visit the city, but I went along with the excuse. "All out of food thanks to you." I made an _I am disgusted with you_ face, trying to keep back the smile that I knew I couldn't keep out of my eyes.

Ajax must have noticed this because he returned the look. "You're welcome." Then he called down to the kids, "Well, we're landing! Come on guys!"

The kids cheered. Even though Siren and Echo's memories of the last town we lived in were fuzzy at best, I could remember. It was a rotten place. We were mostly living in an old, crumbling house until I'd had enough with it all and ordered that we go live in someplace nicer. Our little trio had bounced around from small town to small town, leaving when people seemed to notice us hanging around the parks and not going to school.

I'd considered it many times, of course. Putting them in school, I mean. But I always talked myself out of it somehow. _You can teach them everything they need to know yourself,_ I told myself. _They don't need algebra or U.S. history, they need survival skills, you can teach them that,_ I had said to myself.

It was stupid, I know, but then again, I don't pretend like I'm not most of the time. I mean, I know enough math to count out money for food and clothes, and I can read most words at stores and stuff. Other than that, the Labs never taught us much else than how to march like soldiers and take orders from commanding officers. Morse code? Taking apart a rifle and putting it back together in a matter of seconds? Holding your breath underwater for six minutes? Sure. That's all important in the eyes of the scientists at the Labs. Finding the missing angle of a right triangle? Who the heck would ever need to use that in real life anyway?

We reached the ground together. I had allowed Ajax to lead us in our descent down to the ground, and he had picked a nice back alleyway to land in so that no one would see us. We took off our backpacks for ease-of-wing-folding and went through what little we had left.

"Did you have to leave much at your house?" Icarus asked.

"We kept emergency packs in case we needed to evacuate," I said.

"Smart," Ajax declared with a nod. I eyed him but I couldn't tell if he was teasing or not.

The kids started shuffling towards the street and Ajax and I trailed behind.

"What?" he asked suddenly.

"What, what?" I echoed.

"That look you gave me, what was that for?"

"I- you were teasing me again."

He grinned. "What? Is everything I say an insult now?"

I crossed my arms as we filed out onto the sidewalk. "I don't know. You make it hard to tell sometimes."

"Well, that time I was actually calling you smart."

"Um, thanks."

"No problem," he chided, smiling. "Hey, hey, hey!" he snapped at the kids. "Look both ways before crossing the road!"

I stepped off the curb with the group, Ajax holding Echo's hand. _He sounds like a paranoid mother,_ I mused, smirking.

Some cars rolled by, as well as some other kids. _It must be the weekend,_ I noted. _The kids aren't in school._

"This is good," I whispered to Ajax. "No one will yell at us for not being in class."

He nodded back as Echo pulled him along towards the playground across the street.

The sun was high in the sky and children ran around the park with their mothers chasing after them. It was hot out without much wind, you know, the kind of weather that you don't notice when flying at a hundred miles an hour.

"What are you waiting for, guys?" I asked Siren and Icarus who were fidgeting by the edge of the park. Echo hadn't even hesitated, though. The second she saw all those other kids her age playing on the monkeybars and in the sandbox, she took off running.

"I got her," Ajax laughed, ambling after the seven-year-old.

"I- I don't think I've ever been to a park like this before," Icarus mumbled.

"I'm too old for this sort of thing," Siren commented, although I could see from her eyes that she genuinely wanted to go with Echo and Ajax.

"Don't be silly. No one's too old for monkey bars," I exclaimed, sauntering over to the red playground. Unfortunately, I guess you can be too old for monkeybars. At least, the ones that are meant for really short little kids and come up to my shoulders. But I wouldn't let that stop me. I took hold of two bars and swung my legs up and hooked my knees around them so that I was hanging upside-down. "Hey guys, check it out!"

"Yeah guys, check it out. Mags actually _can_ have fun!" That was Ajax. I saw him shuffle over to me with Echo on his shoulders. Echo slid off his back and step up to me so that we were face-to-face. "Hey, you wanna hang upside-down like a bat like Magpie?" he offered her.

She nodded and he lifted her up under her arms so that she could reach the bars. Siren and Icarus had made their way over here, too.

"I bet I can do more chin-ups than you, Icky," Ajax challenged.

"Yeah, right!"

"I bet I can do more than both of you," Siren announced.

So that's how we all got into a chin-up competition. Ajax ended up winning, but not by much. Icarus came close and so did Siren. I had to stop halfway through just to help Echo which Siren complained was _totally_ unfair, as she put it. Ajax had kept doing chin-ups even after Icky had dropped down from the bar, claiming his hands were going to split open if he kept going. Ajax seemed to have worked himself into a pattern, taking breaths before heaving himself up again. His muscles stood out when he lifted himself up. He caught me staring and winked at me, and I responded by hissing _"show off"_ in his direction.

I leaned on the monkeybars and Ajax tumbled off of them with a yelp and fell on his back. He raised his shivering hands to his mouth and breathed into them like it was the middle of winter. "Did you do that?" he asked accusingly, giving me a look.

I smirked. "Maybe." I held my palm to the metal bars and made them go back to normal temperature.

"Cheater."

"Aren't we supposed to be getting food?" I reminded him, ignoring his complaint.

He rolled his eyes. "Aaand the old Magpie is back."

"I asked you a question."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Can't we just stay here a little longer?"

I gave him a look similar to one that I would give Echo when she wanted to stay up late at night or Siren if she insisted on singing extra loud during the day.

He responded with puppy eyes.

"Nope," I answered.

"Fine." He hopped up from the ground and wiped his hands on his shirt. "Come on, kids!"

The others started whining and pretty much had the same reaction to my order as Ajax did, responding with pleading and requests to stay longer.

"No, we came for food, and we're wasting time here." _Oh well, it was fun while it lasted,_ I thought as we filed out of the gate that enclosed the playground.

* * *

**HEY GUYS! IT'S BEEN LIKE THREE MONTHS I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ARE STILL READING THIS!**

**It's actually really nice to be back. And guess what. I rewrote some chapters! No need to reread the whole story, the only thing I actually changed was some stuff about Hunter and Phoenix and Wren, because I actually did the math and realized that Hunter would never have actually known Echo because she wouldn't have been born yet. (Wow... and I'm supposed to be a math genius.)**

**Anyway, I'm so glad that I'm still writing and you're still reading!**

**~Divide /0**

**PS: Just so you know, this story is nowhere close to being done. I promise that I will _tell_ you when the story is over, so don't be afraid that you won't be able to get a good ending out this. Even if I don't update for a long time, I want you to know that this story is always in the back of my head and I'm always thinking about writing more, and I just haven't gotten around to it.**


	11. Warehouse

**Thursday, June 20th, 2013**

**RECAP**

_**"Fine." He hopped up from the ground and wiped his hands on his shirt. "Come on, kids!"**_

_**The others started whining and pretty much had the same reaction to my order as Ajax did, responding with pleading and requests to stay longer.**_

_**"No, we came for food, and we're wasting time here." Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, I thought as we filed out of the gate that enclosed the playground.**_

* * *

_ware·house_  
_Noun_  
_A large building where raw materials or manufactured goods may be stored before their export or distribution for sale._

* * *

We trudged along the sidewalk towards where we had seen the big grocery store from above. I sensed no immediate danger, so I let my mind wander off for a while. But, that blissful silence was interrupted by Ajax, who was grinning like he always was. Except, there was something wrong about this grin. It looked almost forced.

He leaning forward, he touched my wrist lightly and whispered in my ear. "Don't look now, but there's someone tailing us."

My heart rate jumped. I fought the urge to whip my head around to see what he was talking about, but Ajax just kept right on walking, pushing me along.

The others didn't seem to have noticed. Good.

I gritted my teeth and asked with the one word that I thought I could manage without anyone but Ajax noticing. "Who?"

"How should I know?" Ajax muttered. "I suppose they've been on us for a while though, I think I saw them back at the park."

_They?_ "One plus?" I hissed back, speaking in the choppy, half-coded way they had taught us at the Labs.

He gave the slightest nod.

"Saw us land?"

"What I think."

"Get out of here?"

"Wait for turn." He pointed discreetly to the turn around a building at the end of the street. We'd be able to run after that. But running wasn't as good as flying.

I zoomed in my vision and found a break in the buildings ahead of us. "Alley."

He agreed with a head bob. "Few more steps then run," he said a little louder so that the kids could hear.

"Three, two, one," I hissed. We all bolted with me in the lead. I knew where to turn. Except I felt like cursing when we came up on the alley I had seen and realized that it was much shorter than I had suspected. In fact, isn't really much of an alley at all; just a break in the buildings with some dumpsters filled to the brim with trash.

"Keep going!" Ajax shouted in my ear as he continued to push me forward.

I heard the people who were following us shouting behind us. As we made it to the end of the road and turned left around the corner, I caught a glimpse of them. One had a baseball cap pulled down to cast a shadow over his or her face. The other one was taller than the first, and had on a jacket with the hood pulled up, despite it being so warm out.

They started after us, darting around people walking on the sidewalk. I wasn't too worried about them catching up to us at first, because no humans are as fast or strong as us, but when I turned back for just a second to look at them, my heart jumped into overdrive. They were _fast_, almost as fast as us.

Ajax must've noticed that too, because he grabbed Echo's hand and ran faster. People passing us on the street yelled and tried to get us to stop. We were nearing the edge of the city, and it was started to fade into more industrial part of the town. There were storage garages and warehouses lining the cracked street.

"There!" I shouted, pointing to a particular warehouse. "Lots of metal, but no people."

"You can sense all that?" Icarus asked me, breathing hard.

"Yeah, it's my power with metal." I dashed towards it and pried open the side door with my ability.

We filed inside quickly and I bolted the door behind us. The kids collapsed on the floor while both Ajax and I fought to stay standing, to look like we weren't scared. In the end, Ajax sat down hard on the dusty ground next to me, leaning against a tall, metal shelf of crates containing who knew what.

We were all breathing hard, struggling to fill our extra-large lungs with the chalky air in the warehouse; but Ajax seemed to be having an extra hard time. He started coughing really hard and gasping for breath even once the rest of us had calmed down.

"Are you okay?" I placed my hand on his shoulder but he brushed it off.

He coughed into his hand and sucked in air, only to return to his fit of coughing. Icarus jumped up immediately and knelt next to Ajax, pushing me out of the way. I knew something must be really wrong.

"Where is it?" Icarus asked Ajax, who responded by pointing towards Icky's backpack.

"What's wrong?" Echo whimpered from across the aisle.

"Nothing, sweetie," Ajax choked out, trying to smile.

Icarus had started attacking his backpack, throwing things out every which way, until he apparently found what he was looking for. He turned back to Ajax and shook the small object before pressing it into his hands. "We're getting really low on this stuff," Icky said as Ajax raised it to his mouth and pumped it twice.

"An inhaler?" I wondered aloud. "I thought the Labs got rid of all that stuff when they injected you with bird DNA."

"I guess they thought I'd be too much work." He laughed, his voice obviously still a little dry. "Asthma's a little tricky, especially with so much extra lung space, you know?"

"Yeah, but where do you get the medicine for this?" I took the inhaler gingerly out of his hands, reading the back with the prescription. The name wasn't Ajax's.

"I visit a clinic every time I run out; I use a fake name and stuff."

I nodded silently and returned the object to Icky, who put it back in his backpack. Ajax sat back against the metal shelves and took a big breath of air. "It's just the air particles irritating my lungs, I'm fine."

Echo padded up to Ajax and poked his chest. "You have bad lungs?"

Ajax nodded. "It's okay, though. I have medicine for it."

She seemed accept it. She looked up at me. "Can I draw something?"

"Um..." The request took me off guard. She hadn't asked me to draw since we left the house days ago. I guess I had been hoping that she'd forgotten all about it. "I don't have-"

"I've got a notebook in my backpack, Echo, if you want it."

I gave Ajax a murderous look. If she drew anything related to what she drew last time, we might be in big trouble.

"Who were those people, chasing us?" Siren asked, like she'd been holding the question in for too long.

I shrugged. "I have no idea. They didn't look familiar at all."

"What if they find us here? What if-"

"Don't be scared," I snarled. I hated when they whined.

"Hey, it's perfectly fine to be scared," Ajax interrupted. "We just got chased across a small town by two or maybe even more people that we don't know. Aren't you scared?" He turned to me.

"No," I lied. "Not at all."

A skittering sound came from behind from one of the shelves. We all went still and quiet.

"Are you sure we're the only ones in here?" Icarus whispered next to me.

I looked at Echo, thinking the sound might have been her, but she was just drawing happily in Ajax's lined notebook.

"I'm sure," I said out loud. "People usually carry keys or coins or something, and there's no metal in here except the shelves and some of the stuff inside the crates. And..." I sensed a cylinder-type shape of metal a little ways down the aisle. It was out of place, not part of the regular, repetitive shelves.

I walked down the hallway and saw it lying in between the crates. I was right about the cylinder of metal, but what I hadn't sensed was that it was attached to a handle made of wood.

"What is it, Mags?" I heard Siren ask from the other side of the boxes.

"A sledgehammer," I called back. I made the metal head of the hammer rise up and float towards me. "Cool," I whispered to myself, grabbing out of the air. It wasn't that heavy in the first place, but I could use my power to make it even lighter. _Sweet._

"I'm done!" Echo announced, coming around the corner with a black and white composition notebook in her hands. "I didn't have any crayons or anything, but I would color it if I did."

"That's good," I said, managing a smile. "Can I see?"

She lifted the notebook up to me and I took it, turning it over to the back cover and flipping the pages to see the last page that was written on, just like I always do. The most recent page was covered in little doodles, but the one before that had what was interesting. I turned it horizontally, but honestly, it was kind of hard to tell which way it was supposed to go. Half of the page was taken up by random, swirly marks; I assumed that meant either one of two things: Darkness, or an explosion. It would probably be more detailed if I'd brought some colored pencils. The rest of the page was almost blank, except for a horizon line on the middle of the page. It was hard to tell what it was supposed to be.

I decided to ignore it. I flipped through a couple more pages to look interested, but the drawings ended and gave way to tiny squiggles and characters. I knew they were letters, but there were just so many of them, and they were scrawled and small. I couldn't read it. I traced my finger along the lines of text, fascinated. I finally gave the notebook back to Echo. "That's really nice, sweetie."

"Okay," she said cheerfully. I followed her back to the others, my newly acquired sledgehammer resting lightly on my shoulder, wondering who in the world Ajax learned to read and write from.

* * *

**Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed your 11th chapter! I was going to post this tomorrow, but I'm going on a camping trip this weekend and I wanted you to have a chapter for this week. ****So, I might've mentioned this before, but I don't think so. I made a Tumblr blog! I've had it for a while but I kept forgetting to tell you guys about it. Link is in my profile!**

**So, who do you think the people that followed them are? ****Reviews please!**

**~Divide /0**


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